Independence support services manager jobs

Two positions:

• 1 x Greater Manchester
• 1 x Barking & Dagenham

We have recently been awarded a transformative multi-year grant from The National Lottery Community Fund  as part of its Health Inequities: Structural Racism and Discrimination Partnership. We are one of ten national partners working alongside The National Lottery Community Fund and will take a leading role in shaping how the partnership operates, including building evidence, influencing policy and practice, supporting the design of new national funding programmes, and facilitating collective learning across the partnership.​

Alongside this, the centrepiece of our participation will be the delivery of three Anti-Racism Collaboratives (ARCs), each based in a specific locality and rooted in communities experiencing the sharpest health inequities. The initial locations are Greater Manchester, the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.. ARCs will bring together voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSE), faith organisations, people with lived experience, primary and secondary care providers, local authorities, public health and social care partners. Each ARC will convene a Co-Production Panel (CPP) of people from minoritised ethnic communities to identify where structural racism produces inequitable health outcomes, and to co-produce evidence-led solutions that improve health and tackle the wider determinants of health.​

We are recruiting two Changemakers, one each for Greater Manchester and for Barking & Dagenham. As a Changemaker, you will establish and support an ARC within one of our pilot localities, bringing together stakeholders, providing strategic advice and knowledge of research methods and policy opportunities. You will support the design and implementation of health intervention programmes decided on by the ARC that have the power to influence policy, practice and systems.

Working as part of a national team of Changemakers, you will also contribute to the Foundation's evidence, influencing and systems change work, connecting learning from your locality to national policy, while bringing national developments back into local action. Together, the team will develop a replicable model for tackling racial health inequities.​

We are looking for an experienced systems change practitioner who is passionate about tackling structural racism and improving health equity. This highly collaborative leadership role requires someone equally comfortable working alongside people with lived experience, senior leaders across health and local government, and colleagues from the voluntary and community sector. Success will depend on your ability to build trusted partnerships, work strategically in complex environments, translate evidence into action, and create the conditions for lasting systems change.

Person Specification​

Essential​

• Demonstrable experience of leading complex, multi-agency change involving communities, VCSE organisations and statutory partners. ​

• Strong understanding of how systemic racism operates within health and wider public systems

• Experience of identifying opportunities to redesign policy, commissioning, organisational practice or partnerships to reduce racial inequities. ​

• Experience of leading or facilitating programmes that sought to tackle systemic racism through systems or organisational change. ​

• Ability to build trusted relationships across organisations with different priorities and levels of influence, exercising sound judgement in complex and politically sensitive environments. ​

• Significant experience of working alongside communities experiencing racial inequities to co-produce evidence-led solutions that influence policy, organisational practice or systems. ​

• A commitment to trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches that recognise community knowledge as equal to professional expertise. ​

• Experience of synthesising qualitative and quantitative evidence and translating it into practical recommendations that influence policy, commissioning, organisational practice or wider systems change.​

• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with experience of using evidence and partnership working to shape policy, commissioning or organisational practice.​

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences. ​

• Ability to work strategically while maintaining oversight of programme delivery. ​

• Ability to work confidently in ambiguity, adapting approaches in response to evidence, community insight and changing organisational contexts. ​

• Commitment to equity, anti-racism and the values of the Race Equality Foundation. ​

Desirable​

• Experience of working within health and care systems. ​

• Experience of analysing ethnicity-disaggregated data or wider health inequalities evidence. ​

• Experience of Action Learning, organisational development or other systems change methodologies. ​

• Knowledge of the VCSE, statutory and community landscape within the locality. ​

• Experience of organisational improvement or quality frameworks such as REMI.

For the full job description see attachment.

Applications will only be accepted via application form on our portal. We will not accept any applications via CV.

Please note, we can only accept applications from those already eligible to work in the UK.

Job Role: Children’s Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (CIDVA)

Salary: £22,244 per year (£27,805 FTE)

Hours: 30 hours per week

Contract type: Permanent

Location: Banes

Additional information:

• Participate in an out-of-hours on-call rota.
• A full driving licence and access to your own vehicle for work purposes.

About Alongside:

Alongside is the new name for Julian House. We work with people experiencing social exclusion across the South and West of England, providing outreach, accommodation and support. Our clients may be sleeping rough, fleeing abuse, rebuilding after trauma, leaving prison, recovering from addiction, or trying to settle safely in a new community. Whatever their starting point, we work alongside people to help build safety, stability and independence.

If you’d like a real sense of job satisfaction, great career prospects and a competitive benefits package, you could be who we’re looking for!

About the Role:

As a Children and Young People’s Domestic Abuse Advocate (CIDVA), you’ll play a vital and inspiring role in helping young survivors find their voice, rebuild their confidence, and feel truly heard. Working with children and young people aged 5–17 who have experienced domestic abuse, you’ll provide compassionate, tailored support within a safe refuge environment alongside their non-abusive parent.

At the heart of this role is empowering young people, helping them understand their experiences, express themselves, and begin to move forward in a positive way. Through high-quality one-to-one support, you’ll offer guidance, advocacy, and reassurance, ensuring each young person feels supported every step of the way.

You’ll also bring creativity and energy to the role by delivering engaging group programmes focused on building healthy relationships, resilience, and emotional wellbeing. Alongside this, you’ll coordinate meaningful activities and work closely with partner agencies to ensure every child and young person receives the joined-up support they need.

This is a truly rewarding opportunity to make a lasting difference - supporting young people at a pivotal time in their lives and helping them build safer, brighter futures.

What you’ll be doing:

Work closely with young survivors to co-produce and deliver personalised support plans that reflect their individual needs, strengths and goals.

Supporting young people as they transition from refuge into independent living, helping to build confidence and stability during resettlement.

Carrying out and regularly reviewing risk assessments to ensure the safety and wellbeing of each young person, in line with safeguarding policies.

Building strong partnerships with external agencies, enabling young people to access wider community resources and receive holistic, wraparound support.

Please note: Job descriptions are not exhaustive, and the successful candidate may occasionally be asked to take on other duties that align with the key responsibilities outlined.

You can view the full job description by clicking here.

What we’re looking for:

Experience of working with children and young people affected by domestic or sexual abuse, with a passion for supporting them to feel safe, heard, and empowered.

A strong understanding of trauma-informed approaches and the impact domestic abuse can have on young people’s wellbeing and development.

A full driving licence and access to your own vehicle for work purposes.

There are many great reasons to join our team!

Access to our Rewards Platform, which includes an Employee Assistance Programme and Health Cash Plan

27 days annual leave, including an extra day off for your birthday, plus bank holidays - increasing up to 30 days after 4 years of continuous employment (pro rata for part-time staff)

30% staff discount at our charity shops

A generous and competitive pension scheme

A supportive culture where staff feedback is highly valued and regular supervisions with line managers are conducted

Great opportunities for career development and free monthly training sessions from experienced facilitators

For all the fantastic and valuable work, you’ll be doing, you’ll be eligible for the Blue Light Card which offers amazing discounts on thousands of brands

Reflective Practice sessions from objective, external facilitators

Our Ethos

As an Equal Opportunities employer, we have an Equality and Diversity Action plan in place showing our commitment in ensuring continuous improvement in creating an inclusive culture. We also have a committed group of Inclusion & Diversity champions who meet monthly to ensure progress is being made. We invite applications from people from all backgrounds and cultures, especially minority groups that are underrepresented in the workplace. We also welcome applications from those with lived experience. We embrace flexibility and are proud to be a Disability Confident and Mindful employer, as well as an Armed Forces Covenant Supporter.

If you have any special access requirements or other support needs throughout the application process (including interview), please contact us so that we can let you know how we can support you. We accept CVs and applications in all formats.

DBS Checks

We welcome applications from people with lived experience. All applicants working with our clients will be expected to undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. A criminal conviction will not necessarily prevent you from becoming an employee, the decision will depend on the type of offence and its relevance to the role. If you would like to discuss any convictions you may have, please contact the person named in the advert. All information will be dealt with according to our Data Protection Policy.

Job Title: Programme Lead

Reporting to: Senior Programme Lead

Location: North West

Salary: £24,675

Contract: Permanent, term-time only, full-time or part-time

Annual Leave: 50 days paid holiday each year which must be taken during school holiday

“The facilitator is a friend and teacher mixed into one… she gets the reasoning from the teacher and the understanding bit from the friend.” - Power2 Rediscover Young Person

Power2 is a fast growing and energetic children and young people's charity that has supported 30,000 young people since 2001. We are based in the North West of England and London and deliver early-intervention asset-based programmes to children and young people who have mental wellbeing challenges and are disengaged from school and more widely. We are well-known for our accredited Teens and Toddlers programme and are supporting young people via Power2 Rediscover, an intensive 1:1 crisis response programme.

With our support, children and young people who are experiencing vulnerabilities and disadvantages improve their wellbeing, re-engage with school and learning, build networks and access opportunities.

We’re committed to equality and operate within a culture and structure that recognises diversity and strives to be fair. We live by our values of Brave, Expert and Passionate and we aim to have an entrepreneurial and flexible approach to work.

We are looking for new Programme Leads to deliver our programmes so that all children and young people, regardless of their needs, feel they belong and can prosper.

As a Programme Lead, you will become the consistent, trusted adult in a young person's life, providing trauma-informed mentoring and wellbeing support to care-experienced young people aged 16–25. Through compassionate, strengths based relationships, you will help young people build resilience, develop life skills, improve emotional wellbeing and successfully navigate the journey into independent adulthood.

Working flexibly, primarily across Salford, you will meet young people where they feel most comfortable, whether in community venues, local neighbourhoods or other safe spaces and tailor support around their individual aspirations and goals. You will also work closely with partner agencies and statutory services to create a coordinated network of support that helps every young person feel safe, connected and empowered to thrive.

Successful applicants will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check (child workforce) and provide details of two referees.

Candidates are encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn’t precisely match the job description for this role. Your experience, skills and passion will set you apart so tell us your achievements, irrespective of whether they are personal or work-related and how this has shaped you, including things you’ve learnt along the way.

We are specifically interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of the issues we seek to address (childhood experience of having low family income, being disengaged with school and learning, experiencing poor wellbeing/mental health, being care-experienced, involved in gangs and violence). It is also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

Please apply online with a CV and a personal statement. In your personal statement please describe how your skills and experience match the role description and provide your notice period. Your CV and personal statement are submitted on the second page of the application process. Applications without a personal statement will not be considered.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

Power2 strives to be a diverse and inclusive place where we can ALL be ourselves. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We work to ensure that our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply. If we can make the application process more accessible to you, please let us know.

Safeguarding

Power2 is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful candidates will be required to have an enhanced DBS certificate (child workforce) in place. We may undertake an online search if you are shortlisted.

Use your relationship-building and business development skills to help ensure no older adult is left behind by technology.

Tech Club is looking for a warm, persistent and commercially minded UK Partnerships Lead to develop partnerships with organisations that support older adults.

Our practical online sessions help older people use smartphones, WhatsApp, video calling, online services, AI and other everyday technology with greater confidence and independence.

We now want to expand our reach by working with organisations such as:

• Charities supporting older people
• Care providers and care-home groups
• Housing associations and retirement communities
• Community and voluntary organisations
• Local authorities
• Membership organisations
• Digital-inclusion programmes

The opportunity

You will identify suitable organisations, open conversations with decision-makers and develop relationships that lead to annual Tech Club partnerships.

Our anticipated organisational partnership is worth approximately £10,000 per year, giving the right person the opportunity to earn substantial commission from each successful agreement.

This is a self-employed, commission-only opportunity with:

• Flexible hours
• Remote working
• A substantial commission on each partnership secured
• Estimated annual earnings of £30,000 to £75,000, based on results
• No upper limit on earnings

There is no fixed salary or guaranteed income. This opportunity is most suitable for someone who is comfortable developing their own pipeline and being rewarded directly for the results they achieve.

What you will do

• Research and identify promising partnership opportunities
• Approach senior decision-makers by telephone, email, LinkedIn and through your existing network
• Arrange and lead introductory meetings
• Understand each organisation’s needs
• Present Tech Club as a valuable service for its members, residents, clients or service users
• Develop proposals with the Tech Club team
• Follow opportunities consistently from first contact through to agreement
• Build a healthy and sustainable pipeline of prospective partners
• Represent Tech Club warmly, professionally and credibly

Who we are looking for

You may have experience in:

• Business development
• Organisational partnerships
• Charity partnerships
• Fundraising
• Membership sales
• Care, housing or community services
• Selling services to organisations

You will ideally be:

• Confident opening doors and starting conversations from scratch
• Persistent without being pushy
• Warm, empathetic and trustworthy
• Commercially aware and comfortable discussing substantial annual agreements
• Organised and self-motivated
• Able to manage your own activity and follow-up
• Passionate about digital inclusion and improving the lives of older adults

Existing contacts in the charity, care, housing, community or older-adult sectors would be extremely valuable, although they are not essential for someone with a strong track record of creating new opportunities.

Why join Tech Club?

This is an opportunity to combine commercial success with meaningful social impact.

Every organisational partnership you secure can help hundreds or thousands of older adults feel more confident, connected and independent.

You will work directly with the Tech Club founders and play an important role in shaping our UK organisational partnership programme from an early stage.

Working arrangement

• Remote, UK-based
• Flexible hours
• Self-employed contract
• Commission only
• Uncapped earning potential

How to apply

Please apply with your CV and a short covering note explaining:

• Why this mission interests you
• Your relevant sales, partnerships or business development experience
• The types of organisations you have previously worked with
• How you would approach securing the first partnerships for Tech Club
• Why a commission-only, results-led opportunity suits you

Start date: December 2026

Timeline: 

• Application deadline: 13 August 0900
• Initial phone interview: 14 August 
• First panel interviews: 20 August (online)
• Written task: wk/c 24 August (online, 1 hour)
• Final panel interviews: 8 September (in person, London)

Full-time 37.5 hours per week.

Remote with international travel

Salary and benefits: 

• £98,800 per annum pro rata
• 10% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave, bank holidays on dates of your choice, a week of office closure in August and December
• Flexible working and other benefits (here)

 About us

Foxglove is a non-profit that exists to make the use of technology fair for all. When Big Tech companies abuse their power, their workers or the planet – and when governments use technology to oppress, exclude or discriminate – we litigate and campaign to fix it.  

Big Tech companies have become so large – gobbling up a huge slice of the global marketplace and an unprecedented treasure hoard of user data – that they’re now more powerful than many states. The harmful effects of this concentration of power are everywhere – threats to our democracy, to our privacy, decimated workers’ rights and platforms rife with disinformation and hate. Big Tech and AI data centres are rapidly expanding, resulting in huge strain on energy and water supplies. Worldwide governments are ploughing ahead with the use of algorithms and mass data systems to cut costs and increase efficiency often resulting in digital tools that entrench unfairness and leave the most vulnerable in society in crisis. All these problems are only getting worse with generative AI. 

Foxglove works to bring the rule of law to the tech and AI giants who have upended our public square, workplaces, and social lives. We have a strong track record. We’ve launched landmark cases seeking structural changes to big tech’s harmful business models, supported 180+ Facebook content moderators fired for trying to form a union to sue Facebook. We’ve supported tech workers and their unions to file cases challenging union busting at Google, Amazon and TikTok. We urged state regulators worldwide to stop Google’s theft of independent news. We won the UK’s first legal challenge to a data centre permission decision and filed the first such case in South Africa. We forced disclosure of secret contracts between tech giants and the NHS, stopped a racist Home Office visa streaming algorithm, helped make grading fair for UK A-level students and challenged the Department of Work and Pension’s use of an algorithm unfairly flagging disabled people for benefit fraud investigations. We have much more in the works and we hope you want to join us.

We are a small but growing team of lawyers, communications experts, and campaigners. Our work is global, and we work in partnership with lawyers, civil society, unions, and people impacted by Big Tech.

About you

You are an experienced social change leader who thrives at the intersection of politics, law and communications. You know that court wins alone don't create lasting change – it takes a compelling public narrative and a movement to back it up. You're energised by the prospect of what a well-run Foxglove can bring to the fight for tech justice and thrive in fast-moving environments and complex coalitions – holding a room, building a movement, and keeping a small team motivated and focused. You are a self-starter with the judgement to prioritise and the generosity to support others. You understand that Foxglove's power comes from the communities we work with as much as the cases we bring. If that's you, and the Foxglove mission excites you, we would love to hear from you.

The role

This is a fixed-term parental leave cover post for 1 year. The post holder will step into the co-Executive Director role with co-responsibility for Foxglove's strategy, impact, advocacy, operations, fundraising and public facing work. The post holder will work very closely with Foxglove’s other co-Executive Director and will make all sizable decisions about Foxglove together. UK and international travel (approx. 20%) is required.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategy, Leadership and Impact

1.Serve as a member of Foxglove's leadership team, helping to set direction across the organisation.

2.Work closely with the co-Executive Director and Director of Advocacy to align Foxglove's legal, advocacy and operations work.

3.Represent Foxglove externally: to the press, at events, with funders (trusts, foundations & individual donors), members of parliament and with policymakers and allies.

4.Help ensure communities', workers' and affected individuals' voices are at the centre of all of Foxglove's work.

5.Champion a culture of impact, monitoring and evaluation across the organisation, ensuring Foxglove can clearly demonstrate the change it is achieving internally and externally.

6.Use monitoring and evaluation insight to sharpen strategic decision-making – learning from what's working (and what isn't) to keep Foxglove's campaigns and casework focused on change for the people and communities we support. 

Advocacy and Campaigns

1.Oversee the work of Foxglove's advocacy team (led by our Director of Advocacy) and shape our overall approach to campaigning across digital, media and grassroots channels.

2.Build and maintain relationships with a wide range of allies – civil society organisations, unions, policymakers, regulators, journalists, academics, and international partners – to strengthen Foxglove's reach and influence.

3.Spot and pursue new opportunities for campaigns, litigation, coalition-building and advocacy, keeping Foxglove responsive to a fast-changing tech and policy landscape.

4.Act as a public voice for Foxglove's work – engaging with the press, media and public platforms as required to advance our work.

Operations and Organisational Management

1.Oversee Foxglove's day-to-day operations, ensuring the organisation runs smoothly and effectively.

2.Manage and support staff across the organisation, providing clear leadership and creating a positive team culture.

3.Oversee financial management in partnership with relevant staff, ensuring responsible stewardship of Foxglove's resources.

4.Ensure compliance with Foxglove's policies and obligations to donors, partners and statutory bodies.

5.Line management of Director of Advocacy, Head of Operations, Digital Campaigner, Operations and Executive Assistant and peer support the other co-Executive Director.

Fundraising and Donor Relations 

1.Oversee and lead Foxglove’s fundraising and donor relations in partnership with relevant team members.

2.Drive Foxglove’s fundraising strategy that diversifies Foxglove's income across foundations, major donors and other funding sources.

3.Build and maintain strong personal relationships with key funders and major donors, serving as Foxglove's primary external contact for funders. 

4.Identify and cultivate new funding prospects aligned with Foxglove's mission, including researching and pursuing grant opportunities.

5.Oversee the preparation of compelling funding proposals, reports, and impact updates, ensuring funders have a clear and accurate picture of Foxglove's work and results.

6.Set and track annual fundraising targets in collaboration with the co-Executive Director and finance team, ensuring income projections align with organisational budgets and plans.

7.Represent Foxglove at donor meetings, briefings, and sector events to build the organisation's profile and credibility within the funding community.

8.Ensure fundraising practices reflect Foxglove's values and independence.

Person Specification

Essential

• A strong interest in tech justice and Foxglove's mission.
• Significant (5+ years) experience at CEO level.
• Experience managing and motivating a team, with a track record of supporting people to do their best work.
• A brilliant fundraising track record and experience in financial management. 
• Excellent communication skills – you can write persuasively, clearly and concisely, hold a press conference, and brief a politician, all in the same day.
• Strong political judgement and an ability to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes.
• Experience in organisational management or operations, including oversight of budgets and financial processes.
• A self-starter who is able to work independently and take initiative, while contributing generously to a shared team goal.
• Excellent time management skills of yourself and others – able to prioritise a complex workload and work to tight deadlines.
• Willingness to muck in and support other members of a small team as required.
• UK based with right to work in the UK.

 Desirable

• Experience working on technology, digital rights, or AI.
• Legal qualification or equivalent advocacy leadership experience. 
• Experience working with a wide range of groups and partners from impacted communities, civil society groups, unions, associations and small businesses.
• Experience working with or alongside legal teams in a campaigning or advocacy context.
• Experience working with unions or impacted communities.

Length and Salary

This is a fixed-term parental leave cover contract of 12 months. The annual salary is £98,800 per annum pro rata less any required deductions for income tax and national insurance. Please note our pay is transparent and non-negotiable.

Our team works remotely; this role must be based in the UK, ideally London. Our team travels every two months for team days and annually for team retreats. 

Please note we are only accepting UK based applicants for this role. Applicants must already have right to work in the UK, unfortunately we are not able to provide visa sponsorship.

How to apply

Please make your application via the Be Applied link provided, answering the application questions and uploading your CV. We will not review applications sent via a job board or to our email.

All applications are reviewed by a Foxglove member of staff. We do not use automated systems to select which candidates proceed through the recruitment process. The only way in which we will use generative AI is as a comparison, to assess whether applications may have been AI generated. We do not otherwise use AI to process applications, and would request that candidates do not use generative AI to draft theirs.

Foxglove is growing and we are striving to build a team that is inclusive. We will create a diverse and adaptable environment where we support people to do their best work. We believe an effective and creative team is made up of people from different walks of life. You can read more about how we work and what we offer our staff on our website.

If any part of this process causes you difficulty or you require any reasonable adjustments to make your application, please get in touch with us via our website.

If you would like to know more about how we process your data as part of the recruitment process you can read our recruitment data use policy on our website

Join Challengers as their new Head of Fundraising and Advocacy and help make it possible for every disabled child and young person to play and have fun, without limits.

Location: Hybrid / Guilford (3 days per week in office)

Applications close: 9 a.m. Monday 10th August 2026

About Challengers

For almost 50 years, Challengers has been transforming the lives of disabled children and young people through inclusive play. We break down barriers, reduce isolation, support families, and provide respite and community when it’s needed most.

Nearly 1 in 5 children has a SEND need, yet many are excluded from school, play and community life, lacking safe spaces to connect and belong. This leads to isolation for children and intense pressure on families. Children become isolated, missing out on vital opportunities to develop confidence, friendship and independence. Parents are facing exhaustion, declining mental health and often being forced to give up work.

Challengers exists to break this cycle, creating inclusive, community-based spaces and providing services where disabled children and their families are supported. From play and youth schemes to family days and parent carer training and three alternative provision sites, our work tackles inclusion at its root by focusing on belonging, connection and dignity.

About the role

As the Head of Fundraising and Advocacy, you will develop and deliver integrated strategies to connect our story, audiences and funding opportunities, driving an increase in brand awareness and voluntary income. This is a senior leadership role, reporting to the CEO and sitting on the senior leadership team (SLT).

The role combines strategic leadership, high-level communications expertise and fundraising innovation to maximise impact and sustainability.

Who we are looking for

We seek an ambitious and collaborative fundraising leader who combines strategic vision with a practical, hands-on approach to delivery. You’ll be an inspiring communicator, engaging team leader, adept at engaging stakeholders and building trusted multi-year relationships that translate into meaningful income growth and organisational impact.

You’ll bring a strong track record of developing and delivering successful fundraising strategies across multiple income streams, alongside experience of contributing at a senior leadership level.

You’ll embrace change with resilience, identify opportunities where others see challenges and work collaboratively across fundraising, communications and the wider organisation to maximise impact.

Ultimately, we’re looking for someone who is driven by purpose, excited by opportunity and ready to help shape the next stage of our fundraising journey.

Please click on the link to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you will find full details of the role and how to apply.

Applications for this role close at 9 a.m. Monday 10th August 2026.

About the role

The Academy runs some of the most valued grant schemes and development programmes in UK biomedical and health research. Springboard Awards help researchers establish their independence. Starter Grants keep talented clinicians in research alongside their clinical work. Leadership programmes like FLIER develop people who can work across academia, healthcare and industry to tackle real-world challenges, and alongside these sit opportunities to spend time working in industry, the NHS or government. Moving between sectors should be a normal part of a medical research career (it is not yet), and much of our work is built with that belief: a more connected and mobile workforce is better able to turn discovery into benefit. Between them, these schemes change the course of people's careers, and the research they enable reaches patients across the UK and beyond.

This role leads that portfolio. The heart of the job is excellent delivery: schemes that are well designed and well run, and that make a real difference to the people they reach. You will work closely with the Fellowship, whose expertise and generosity run through the whole portfolio, and you will make sure the schemes serve the whole of the medical sciences community (across the devolved nations and the regions, in industry as much as academia), not just those already inside the most established institutions. And science is global, so this work is too: the portfolio draws on evidence and partnerships from around the world, and the mentoring and networks around the people we support reach well beyond the UK.

Today much of the portfolio's focus is research talent and careers. That will always be a substantial part of the portfolio, but over time we plan to expand it further. That expansion could go in several directions, and what matters is that we are taking an evidence-based approach to ensure that our efforts are responding to what the medical sciences sector needs. Whatever we launch next, the same principles apply; good design, sound funding, proper governance and solid evaluation, with our effort concentrated where it delivers the most impact. So, the job is twofold: run today's portfolio brilliantly and build the future portfolio. It is a role where you can see your work land in people's lives, with real scope to shape what comes next. And none of it stands alone: what we learn from the people we fund sharpens our policy voice, the community our programmes build strengthens our engagement and public trust work, and insight flows back the other way to shape what we design next.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will share in the leadership of the Academy as a whole, working closely with the other directors: the Chief Operating Officer and the Directors of Policy, Communications and Engagement, and Translation and Enterprise. The relationship with Translation and Enterprise matters especially. That team will shape new partnerships and initiatives that your team is best placed to deliver, so the two of you will work in very close partnership.

What we are looking for

These are the six areas we will explore with candidates. They match the six parts of the role above, so you can read straight across — and your supporting statement can follow the same structure if that helps. We do not expect anyone to arrive with every part fully formed, but the strongest candidates will be convincing across most of them.

1. Excellent delivery

A strong track record of running grant schemes or of significant programmatic delivery. Much of this is operational: holding an annual cycle to time and budget, catching problems early and getting stuck things moving again. It is also about making sure the portfolio adds up to a coherent whole rather than a collection of separate schemes, with the governance discipline — sound contracts, clean compliance, rigorous oversight — that sits behind delivery done well.

2. Building partnerships and negotiating well

A track record of building and sustaining partnerships with funders, delivery organisations and industry, and the skill and pace to turn them into agreements where appropriate. We will want to hear how you have handled a complex negotiation and brought it to a close. The Chief Operating Officer leads the Academy’s income strategy, so we will also explore how you develop partners in concert with colleagues.

3. Range and credibility across the community

This role runs from Fellows (some of the most eminent scientists in the country) to researchers at the very start of their careers, and from government and funders to industry partners. We are looking for someone with the range to work well across all of them, and the credibility to be taken seriously at every level. We will also explore how you have widened access and drawn talent in from beyond the usual places.

4. A focus on impact

A commitment to looking at what difference the portfolio you lead makes. We are looking for someone who treats evaluation as a source of learning and uses what it shows to decide what the Academy should do next, keeping sight of the people and patients the work is for.

5. Leading and empowering people

A brilliant leader of people: someone who gets the best from a talented team by giving them space and ownership, backing them with real support and coaching, and building a culture where people thrive and develop.

6. Collective leadership

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you would share responsibility for the Academy as a whole, not only your own directorate. We want someone who takes that seriously, brings challenge where it is needed, backs colleagues when it counts, and helps make the Academy a brilliant place to work.

Benefits

We offer a competitive and evolving benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, development and work–life balance, including:

• Competitive salary and pension
• 26 days’ annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Option to buy or sell annual leave 
• Additional paid closure between Christmas and New Year
• Hybrid and flexible working
• Health, wellbeing and employee support programmes
• Cycle-to-work scheme and everyday benefits
• Structured learning and development
• Enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity leave
• Enhanced occupational sick pay

For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the apply button.

Closing date for completed applications: Midday on Monday 17 August 2026.

First interviews will be held 25-26 August 2026 with the CEO, Roz Campion, and the COO, James Lawrence, and focused on two competencies – leadership and delivery.

Second interviews will be held on 1 September 2026 with an external panel.